After Hours
by stellaa
Summary: Hermione finds something odd in Snape's possession, thus starting an unlikely relationship between the two. Mild BDSM warning. NSFW.
1. The First Detention

**AN:** So Chapter 1-3 have finally been revised! Thank my beta for going back with me and making this possible. She's amazeee.

**Chapter 1**

Snape preferred to work in solitude. Hermione, who had finished her detention work long ago, watched the professor from the front row of the classroom, twirling her quill in one hand and resting her chin on the other. She let out a short yawn, hoping Snape would catch on and realize he had already kept her an extra fifteen minutes late.

Small pops and sizzles issued from the cauldron as Snape poured another strange brightly-colored liquid inside. None of the flasks were labeled, which she assumed was intentional, making it impossible to guess what he was working on. She wondered if she dared speak up and risk having house points taken away for 'obstinacy' or whatever other stupid reason he could come up with. She cleared her throat and finally spoke up, "Er, excuse me. Professor?"

He paused, hovering over his work for the slightest second, then quickly went back to what he was working on before.

Again, she noted, it was very like him to clearly be so uninterested in what she had to say, or what anyone had to say for that matter. Not bothering to hide the irritation in her voice this time, she spoke up again, "Professor Snape, if I don't leave now, I won't make it to the Quidditch game. It's beginning in—" Truthfully, she hadn't really wanted to go but Ron and Harry had pressured her to at least make a short appearance before disappearing into the girl's dormitory.

"I guess you'll have to miss it then, Ms. Granger, if you cannot keep your mouth shut during detention."

She quickly closed her mouth and exhaled loudly through her nostrils. "Yes, professor."

A few silent minutes passed of Snape working alone and Hermione desperately trying to keep herself awake before he spoke up again. Hermione jumped. "But, I suppose if you want to make yourself useful in the meanwhile, you can go fetch me a bag from my supply closet down the hall."

Hermione stood up from her chair and took the supply closet keys from him, not really thinking a proper response to his request. She blamed her unquestioning obedience on her tiredness, but in the end decided it wasn't like she had much of a choice to begin with. Upon receiving the key her hand lightly brushed across his. It was rougher and warmer than she had imagined. Professor Snape seemed so stiff and cold-blooded. Was it silly of her to assume his body was as cold as he came off? Realizing the awkwardness of the thought she quickly shook her head and hurried down the hall to the supply closet.

As most everything else in Hogwarts, the door to the supply closet was ancient. The wood had split in several places and dark rot could be seen peeking through the cracks. Hesitantly, she stuck the key in the large bold lock and opened the door.

The room itself was about the size of the average walk-in closet. Biting her lip, she searched around the small space looking for the bag. She really wished she had been alert enough to ask him to specify. She spotted a small cloth bag on the middle shelf behind some more of Snape's notorious unlabeled carefully wiggled her hand past the jars and pulled it out.

Hermione took a step back and in a flash she tripped over something and caught herself on one of the shelves before she fell. Heart pounding, she froze, listening. She was surprised Snape hadn't already come rushing in to deduct points with all the noise she had made knocking things over. She quickly gathered up everything off the floor and shoved it back on the shelf. She grabbed the rest of the stuff that had fallen out of the bag, threw it back in and rushed back to the classroom.

She desperately wanted to turn back around and do a better job of cleaning, but it was too late, she was already at the end of the hallway. Snape loomed over her in the doorway."Well, do you have it? What are you waiting for?"

Hermione handed over the bag and followed him back into the classroom. She started to return to her desk.

"You're not done yet, Ms. Granger." He handed her back the bag and turned back to his work. "Pull out the items listed on the chalkboard.

Hermione did as she was told, refusing to look at him. She plunged her arm into the bag and managed to find the first few items by trial and error. Pulling things back in and out, over and over again. She had gotten used to the familiar shapes of everything in the bag when she came across something odd. She couldn't quite place what she felt. Her curiosity got the best of her and she pulled it out.

"What's taking so—" Snape said, turning around, and stopped mid-sentence. His expression was just as shocked as Hermione's. The object in her hand appeared to be some kind of flogger. She gasped, holding it a second too long before throwing it back in the bag like it had burned her.

"I-I—" she stammered, awkwardly meeting his gaze.

"It-it's for those damned beasts Hagrid loves to parade around." He sounded … _nervous_. A rare sight indeed.

"Y-yes, of course."

He cleared his throat before snatching the bag out of her hands. "Wrong bag, Miss Granger. Somehow I'm not surprised. You've done enough damage today. Return tomorrow to finish your detention.."

She nodded, finding herself at a loss for words. She gathered her belongings and dashed out of the classroom.


	2. The Second Detention

**AN:** Hey! So I somehow failed to mention this was going to be a chapter fic so I really hope you guys stick around for the rest. Also sorry if this is riddled with mistakes. I'm horrible at editing things. I'm currently looking for a beta reader so if you're up for it please shoot me a pm! Thanks!

Reviews are always really sweet to read and appreciated!

**AN2:** So Chapter 1-3 have finally been revised! Thank my beta for going back with me and making this possible. She's amazeee.

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><p>Back in the comfort of her dormitory, Hermione rubbed her temples, trying to compose herself enough to think over what just happened. Her head was racing and not even in her mind could she form complete sentences, all that came out where loud bits and pieces. <em>Snape. Detention. Professor. WEIRD SEXUAL DEVIANT.<em> The sentence fragments rolled off her tongue accidentally, in small hushed coos. She rolled onto her side, burying her face into her plush mattress and cradling her legs to her chest.

She didn't know what disturbed her more, the fact that she had touched such a personal thing or that despite how much it pained her to admit, she didn't actually find it all that surprising. Not in the sense that she wasn't shocked, which she obviously was, but in the respect that, once she thought about it, it did fit his personality. The revelation was sickening, or at least it should have been. She felt hollow and shocked but not at all disgusted in the way she thought she should be feeling. She was, oddly enough, more curious than anything. "In the subject itself," she said aloud, as if to reassure herself.

_How the hell was she going to face him tomorrow?_ A distorted image of Snape kept reappearing in her mind, dressed in his usual dark fashion, but i was threateningly smacking a whip against his palm and staring back at her blurry-eyed, desire burning in his dark pupils.

The day flew by, and before she knew it, it was time for Potions.. She shuffled her supplies for class nervously as she made her way to Snape's classroom. In a way, she was almost excited to see what was going to happen. Snapping herself out of her thoughts, she saw Snape standing stiffly near the doorway of the classroom, collecting the previous day's assignment from students with abrupt strokes of his wand.

She pulled out her homework from between the pages in her textbook, steeling herself for an awkward encounter. Luckily she had finished her work the day before in detention, because after what had happened there was no way she would have been able to finish it. As she waited patiently behind her classmates, Malfoy shot past her, roughly bumping into her shoulder as he went. Parchment went flying out her hand and scattered the floor around her.

A crisp voice spoke up. "Mr. Malfoy... Watch your step." Hermione's eyes went wide, as did the rest of the students' around her. Malfoy looked equally stunned. She felt Professor Snape's eyes on her but she refused to return his gaze. Scowling at the two, Snape waved his wand to collect the paper that had fallen out of Hermione's grasp and ushered the class inside. "The rest of you... I expect you all to have your work at the front by the end of class. There will be no exceptions."

Hermione sat herself at her normal seat in the front and stared blankly at the chalkboard. _What had just happened?_ Malfoy sat directly behind her, loudly pulling his chair out as if to announce his presence. Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

Class proceeded normally, with Snape lecturing while they all struggled to keep up. Hermione noticed he seemed on edge, or at least more motivated than usual to give the class a harder time. Every now and then he would glance in her direction but never for more than a few seconds, much to her relief. Though she was unsure if those darting eyes were meant for her.

She wondered what would possess Snape to start treating her like an actual human being. After the events of the day before, she couldn't imagine any reason Snape would have for - _unless ..._ She gripped her pencil tighter. _He couldn't possibly think that -! _ Hermione stole a glance at him then quickly looked back down at her textbook. _No, no, it couldn't be anything that dirty. _She bit her lip, upset she would think something so strange in the first place. There was no way her Professor could be interested in her in that sense. _He must think if he wasn't on his best behavior she might tell someone what she saw, _she corrected quickly. And if that was it, then it would _prove_ what she found yesterday was much less wholesome than he tried to pretend.

Surprisingly, Malfoy hadn't said anything obnoxious all period. She wondered if his proximity was just an idle threat. Malfoy was not dumb enough to defy Snape openly. Regardless of his reasons, Hermione was grateful to Snape for coming to her aid. She was surprised with how normal everything had been so far. A few times she almost entirely forgot about the day before - and about her detention later on. She checked the enchanted clock hovering above the chalkboard, ticking quietly as it bobbed in place. _Only a few more minutes before class ends_, she reminded herself, her stomach doing summersaults. She looked away, accidentally meeting Snape's eyes. His expression was impossible to read but she could have sworn that for a second he looked just as reluctant as she was.

The bell finally rang and everyone hurried back to the common rooms, while Hermione remained behind to serve out the remainder of her detention. The last person out the door was Malfoy, who graced her with the most mischievous smile before taking his leave. She wondered what evil scheme that blonde devil had on his mind.

Soon she was the only student left in the room with Professor Snape. She gulped, folding her hands neatly on her desk. He hadn't directly addressed her yet, just as the day before. She hoped she would luck out and he would ignore her for the next hour or so. But it was too early to say.

"Ms. Granger... Yesterday, what_ exactly_ did you do to my supply room? I hope you weren't searching through it for those two troublesome friends of yours..."

His voice made her jump. "Oh! Um, I'm really sorry about the Professor! It was really nothing like that. I uh..." He voice trailed off for a second, trying to think of how to explain herself. "Tripped. I'm truly very sorry. I tried to fix things as best I could."

He sighed. "Obviously not good enough ... If you had simply told me then, I would have given you more time to clean"

Again, Hermione found herself at a loss of words. _Why was he being so - so different?_ She wanted to mention something about not wanting to lose house points or not wanting to risk having another few detentions slapped on but held her tongue. "I can finish up cleaning it now if you'd like." Immediately after she'd spoken she wished she hadn't.

Snape pursed his lips. "Er, that won't be necessary."

The air went tense again and Snape turned back to his work, fiddling with the stack of papers in his hand. She expected things to go back to how they were earlier but he spoke up again. "If you really want to make yourself useful you can grade these papers. I'm sure you know how to do _that_ correctly."

Hermione nodded and stood up, strangely very eager to please him. Yesterday she was too engrossed with herself to imagine how he must have felt having someone, especially a student, finding something so personal. A wave of guilt overcame her for being so quick to judge him before. She sat a few seats away from Snape and began working her way through the stack. When she came across Malfoy's paper she was tempted to grade him down an extra few marks but resisted the urge. She smirked. She supposed it wouldn't make much of a difference anyway. His work was average at best.

"I assume you're on Malfoy's paper from that impish expression on your face."

"Er, yes. His work is no surprise."

Snape smiled, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "That's something we can both agree on."

Hermione didn't understand why, but for some reason the cold Professor Snape was radiating genuine emotional warmth. If she hadn't been there to witness it herself she wouldn't have believed it. _Could she have been misinterpreting him this whole time?_ She felt like in the last thirty minutes, she had gotten to know more about him than she did in the last six years sitting in his class. It always felt like he was singling out her, Harry, and Ron before but in hindsight it wasn't all that surprising, considering all the trouble they often got into. It also wasn't like he treated anyone differently than he treated them.

"Professor, I'm done." She handed the pages back to him.

"Very good."

Hermione sucked in a breath. _An actual compliment escaping his mouth?_ Her heart quickened. She would never get used to this. "Thank you," Hermione murmured a little late, looking at him curiously.

He stood up and went to log the grades. "That will be all for today. Thank you Ms. Granger. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

She nodded and left in a daze. Her mind was blank, still working to process what just happened. Snape - _Professor Severus Snape_ - had been civil with her, had engaged in small talk with her, and complimented her for her help. She rubbed her forehead, feeling her face flush. All the animosity she had harbored for him before had vanished in only a few minutes, and what replaced it was still too confusing to understand. She wanting nothing more than to clear her head. There were still a good twenty minutes left of lunch, so she hurried to the Great Hall. She felt anything but hungry, but she desperately craved the company of her friends.

They always sat at the same spot at the Gryffindor table, and if that wasn't enough, Ron's hair always stood out She loudly dumped her books on the table and sat beside them. Ron, who was still stuffing his face, was the first to say something. "I heard Snape's being hard on you. Been keeping you in detention for the last couple of days."

Harry joined in. "It must be painful having to sit in a room alone with that guy for an extra half an hour." They both continued to share their distaste for the man very openly saying things that she definitely would have agreed with the day before. She kept her mouth shut, unsure of how to respond to it all.

A brown haired blue-eyed boy sporting her house colors rushed in their direction, a wide grin plastered to his chiseled face. Hermione held her breath, shifting nervously in her seat. He leaned over between the two, resting a hand on Ron's shoulder. She hadn't recognized his face, which she couldn't comprehend how considering how perfectly his chin curved into his high cheekbones. "Hey, my stepbrother is putting on a show in Hogsmeade, you in?"

Before she was able to think it through Hermione answered, "I'd love to," before the boys were able to respond.


	3. The Show

**AN:** Hi! It's me again. Again, gotta apologize for all the mistakes. I literally marathoned this fic the last few days. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews, follows, and the impossible amount of views I've been receiving. I'm still looking for a beta reader for minor plotting help. The HP universe is so complex, it's so impossible to get every detail correct. I love you all. Oh also, fair warning, expect M rated stuff very soon.

**AN2:** So Chapter 1-3 have finally been revised! Thank my beta for going back with me and making this possible. She's amazeee.

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><p>It got darker faster than expected, leaving all the students wandering the path to Hogsmeade in almost pitch black, all relying on the dim light emanating from the tips of their wands.<p>

The narrow stone pathway was covered in snow, only clear enough in some places just to know the general direction it was heading in. It made her uneasy, the pathway was so much different looking at night and there was no teach to accompany them in the case that anything were to happen to them. All of the students had gone down this path enough times to know where they were going, but Hermione still couldn't help the anxiety building in her gut.

Ron, who always seemed to have something on his mind, went on and on with Harry talking about the last Quidditch match she missed. They walked several steps ahead, easily maneuvering the thick snow Hermione found more difficult to maneuver. Their breath was visible in the air, the light mist contrasting with their dark surroundings. Ron abruptly stopped in his tracks, causing Hermione to roughly collide into his back. "You've been so quiet this whole time. It's so odd. Usually you're so eager to argue with me."

Hermione scowled and pushed his shoulder. "I'm sorry if I'm the only one slightly concerned for our well-being. What if something happens to us? What if we get caught? Doesn't that concern either of you?"

"There's the Hermione we know and love! Just calm down and try to have fun for once," Ron retorted. Harry stood off to the side laughing meekly behind his palm. Hermione growled, which came out more like a high-pitched whine, and turned away. She felt the wind pick up behind her, and adjusted her scarf around her neck.

It wasn't long before the village came into view and the old stone trail turned into a more modern cement path. Celebratory whoops of their peers filled the air. Hermione turned to Ron. "Where exactly are we supposed to meet Henry's cousin's brother, or whoever it was we came here for?" She sounded more annoyed than she intended but she figured he would say something irritating sooner or later, as he always did time and time again.

"Um, over this way! Follow those two. They seem like that know where they're going," Ron said, as if she should have known.

And there it was. She was annoyed. Hermione would never understand how they could just go places without knowing where to go or what to do. She pursed her lips to keep from saying something she might regret. The point of this trip was to get her mind off things and she was set on not letting Ron ruin it for her. Instead, she quickly jogged forward, scoping out the area ahead and following close behind the two leading.

The stopped at a small amphitheater someone on the outskirts of the village, furthest from Hogwarts. They found a spot near the trees and took a seat, waiting for the show to begin. Ron's arm shot out, pointing to a group of three setting up in the corner. Hermione made herself comfortable in the snow, using her cloak as a blanket to sit on. "There he is! That's Henry and his brothers. I hear he's a master of fireworks spells."

"This should be interesting..." Hermione said to herself, not knowing what to expect.

She tried to keep her mind off it but her thoughts kept turning back to Snape. Things had been so odd between them lately. She wanted to talk to someone about it but she knew the boys would be no help. They would probably make things worse and try to accuse him of something. _Ah,_ she thought, her guts twisting up inside._ That's right._ He was in a very very bad position because of her. If anyone ever found about it…

Then she knew that no matter what she must never let anyone find out. It was her fault after all. If she hadn't been so careless in the first place, none of this would have happened. She didn't understand why the thought made her gut wrench so much.

_BOOM!_

Her head shot up, adrenaline pulsing through her body.

"It's starting!" Ron roared, pulling Harry to his feet. He pointed to the sky. "Isn't that just wicked?"

She had seen fireworks shows before in the Muggle world but those were absolutely nothing compared to the this. It amazed her. She'd never seen so many firework explosions in the sky at the same time before.

"Oh, we are _definitely_ going to get caught." Harry said, laughing and covering his head with his palms.

The bright colors reflected off the snow, illuminating the area around them. Hermione looked around in awe, forgetting to taking a breath. The sight was unreal, like something straight out of a storybook. "It's beautiful."

She picked up a handful of snow in a childish display of innocence expecting it to be the same bright red color it was laying on the floor. She held it at a different angle till the snow caught the light. Satisfied, she smiled and threw the snow back to the ground. As she turned to catch the expressions on Ron and Harry's faces she caught sight of a dark figure out of the corner of her eye. Her stomach dropped. A short distance away, Professor Snape stood outside a shop, staring in her direction. Looking as if he just snapped out of a trance, his eyes met hers.

Hermione tugged on the corner of Ron's sweater. "Ron," she mumbled finding trouble getting the words out.

A voice shrieked from behind her, "Professor Snape!" In a flash the peaceful scene turned to chaos, with every student dashing in every direction trying to get away. A pair of arms, either Ron of Harry's, took hold of her and threw her behind a shrub. The boys knelt next to her, peeking out over the hedge. Hermione craned her neck, trying to get a good view of what was going on through the bush, but because of the awkward, cramped position she was cramped in she couldn't see much.

A pair of legs ran by, presumably another professor, because Hermione heard him cursing as he chased after a pair of students. Snape stood in the distance, his position remained unchanged. Her heart skipped a beat. She knew he could see them; he was looking directly at her where she crouched behind the bush. He pursed his lips into a thin line, making a sour expression before turning and walking away. Ron, who had been sure they were going to get caught, let out a sigh of relief before being shushed. Hermione was relieved they hadn't been caught, but she couldn't help but wonder. _What was Snape doing in Hogsmeade in the first place?_ When the noise began to die down Harry gently tapped their shoulders and whispered for them to follow his lead.

They followed an alternate way back to the castle, it was a lot longer and through the dreaded Forbidden Forest, but they didn't have any other option. Hermione hated going through the forest, but she was sure Ron hated it more. The walk back was anything but silent, mostly filled with Ron and Harry laughing about their luck. "He was looking right at us! Can you believe that?!" Ron exclaimed, kicking a rock to the side.

"Yeah," Harry replied, his voice more concerned this time. "It's a bit odd though, isn't it? What reason did he have to let us go like that? He absolutely detests us."

"I have no idea but you never know. Did you see the look on his face? He was probably thinking about something else. Maybe he just really likes fireworks."

Hermione snorted loudly, quickly covering her mouth. Harry joined in. "Yes, because that makes complete sense. He hates everything but fireworks. They spark a flame in his void of a heart he's never felt before." They all had a good laugh over that.

Eventually the castle came in view, and no surprise, its exterior was covered with staff, waiting angrily for whoever was dumb enough to show up. Ron bit his nails, crouching behind a tree. "Any good ideas Hermione?"

She shook her head. It was starting to get really cold. She wrapped her arms around herself. The wind was picking up and the tree tops swayed along with it. "We can try finding a way in through the back entrance. I'm sure it's going to be just as guarded but we should at least try."

They silently agreed and began walking the other direction, following the forestline to the back. It wasn't long before they made it to Hagrid's hut. The lights inside the small shack were still on. "Should we?" Hermione whispered.

"I don't think we have much of an option." Harry nodded and they quietly walked over to the shaking, first checking if the coast was clear before entering the clearing. Hermione carefully opened the doorknob, only to be greeted by Professor Snape and Hagrid standing in wait. "I really had no idea they'd be here." Hagrid said defensively.

"I'll take them from here." Snape waved his hand, motioning the trio to follow him out. Hagrid looked confused, probably expecting Snape to cause him more trouble. He shrugged at the three of them, who were just as confused as he was. They stayed silent, all exchanging confused glances. Snape was clearly annoyed, but not angry like he would usually be. His tone was sharp but calm, as if they were nothing more than a slight inconvenience to him. Hermione grit her teeth, her insides more scrambled up then before. More than anything she felt guilty. She was terrified she had ruined the respect he had for her.

"I'm sorry." Hermione said impulsively.

The boys' heads shot back towards her with disgruntled expressions. _What are you doing?_ Ron mouthed angrily.

Snape glanced back, his stress lines softened. He didn't reply, but she understood and felt comforted.

Snape led them to the front entrance. Hermione stayed silent, her heart thumping crazily in her chest. The other staff let them pass without asking any questions, much to their relief. Snape stopped a short ways from the Gryffindor common room..

"Potter, Weasley, back to your common room. Ms. Granger, a moment please. I think we have something to discuss." Hermione nodded and stayed behind. Her friends looked concerned, but did as they were told. Once their footsteps had faded away Snape cleared his throat and spoke.

"Granger... I have been holding my tongue for you... because of recent events. I am very unhappy to see you taking advantage of my... regrettable benevolence."

"I'm sorry, Professor, I wasn't thinking-"

"Obviously."

"Please believe me, I wasn't trying to take advantage of your kindness. I would never."

Snape parted his lips, but hesitated. He rolled his tongue in his cheek before speaking again. "Detention then, Miss Granger. Multiple you cannot be trusted to keep out of trouble, I suppose I shall have to keep an eye on you. You can work on your homework after class while you also grade your peer's work as well." Oddly enough, it didn't feel like much of a punishment.

She nodded, bobbing her head up and down like an over-agreeable toddler. With a sigh, he dismissed her and they left in opposite directions. It wasn't until she got back into the common room that she noticed how exhausted she was. She had been running on adrenaline this whole time, and now that the familiar warm scent of the common room filled her senses she was having trouble keeping her eyes open. She crawled into bed, wrapping her arms around her pillow. Even with her eyes shut, and her mind drifting off, a certain dark pair of eyes remained in her thoughts.


	4. A Dream

**AN:** Hey me again! I have a beta reader now and she is absolutely amazing! Her fanfiction UN is **RPGgirl514**, so check her stuff out! I really couldn't ask for more out of a beta reader.

All previous chapters will be updated soon(ish) so look out for that. Only minor details will be changed, so they shouldn't change how the story reads as a whole. Chapter releases may be delayed for a few days longer because of editing and whatnot. Also I will change the 'BDSM undertones' thing in the summary soon because it is less undertones now and just like straight BDSM haha.

And as always thank you so much for reviewing, following, and favoriting. Having my gmail spammed with alerts from you guys always brightens my day.

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><p>A couple of days passed with nothing too remarkable happening. Hermione helped Professor Snape out with whatever he asked. The tasks were usually simple, but always gave her enough to finish the work she had from the rest of her classes. She had developed a special hatred for fetching Snape's mail. At first she had wondered why Snape was so forceful with his owl but after having to fend the damned thing off from several nipping fits, she learned to head in with a certain mindset.<p>

The two talked more often now, almost in the same way she would talk to a normal acquaintance ,as strange as it sounded. Most of the time he was lecturing her, but the more she got to know him she realized his constant scolding was his way of showing affection. He was genuinely concerned about her well-being.

He encouraged her to mark students off for whatever reason she wanted, whether it be the obnoxious writing tone of something or a simple misspelling. Suddenly she found her peers treating her with more respect once they realized she was the one grading their work. Despite that, she tried not to let her power get to her head and graded everything fairly. The only time she was especially harsh was when Draco was particularly irritating. Like the other day when he and his pack went out of their way to follow her to her next class and obnoxiously pretended to tug on her robes from behind.

"Granger, I need you to pick up something from the library for me." Snape wrote the book title on a scrap piece of parchment paper and handed it to her. "Hurry back."

Hermione took the scrap, nodding listlessly in response. She would be able to stretch out her legs. She threw her bookbag over her shoulder and set out, her legs loudly creaking and cracking in the silence. The halls were mostly empty, making it easier to navigate about. She was also happy to avoid the pity-filled stares of her classmates and whispers as she walked by. Strangely, her punishment had caused somewhat of a political issue among her classmates. _"Poor Hermione, Snape has really been focusing all his anger on her lately." "At least it's been stopping him from messing with the rest of us,"_ was usually how they went.

It felt like years had passed since the last time she had been inside the library. She had spent so much time in there it felt like a second home to her. Everything was still in place from her last visit, except the spot in the corner she usually sat in was occupied by a noisy group of Slytherins. She fought back a groan, trying to make things easier on herself by going against her usually outspoken nature. She wanted to get this trip done as fast as possible, return to the potions classroom to finish her work and that was it. There was no need to have any more angry Slytherins after her.

After clearing her check-out for Snape with the librarian, she slipped behind the nearest bookshelf and to the back section. As she browsed the titles she couldn't help but pick up on the not-very school-appropriate conversation the group was having. The librarian had left the room, or so she assumed, because there was no way Madam Pince would have sat by while they were talking about such things.

"Oh wow, so what was next?" The bulkier one said to the other, nudging his side. They looked familiar but not enough to put a name to their faces. She might have saw them hanging around Malfoy at some point.

"You wouldn't believe it, it was pretty surprising for me too. A Hufflepuff girl into such kinky shit. It sounded like a dream."

"A dream come true!" They both laughed, and again Hermione found herself withholding another groan.

"So I when I had the chance I slipped off to Hogsmeade, you know, the night of the show and all that mess," he said. "I got this book and I gave her a great time ,I'd say." He tossed the book on the table.

Her interests were piqued. She took a few steps toward them and removed a book from the shelf, creating a hole for her to look through. A thick coating of dust that was previously covering the shelf flew around her. She covered her mouth with her palm, fighting the urge to sneeze.

"But the book is total bull. It doesn't have any of the stuff in it I thought it would. I had to do most of the actual 'scene' thinking myself."

She caught a short glimpse of the cover, only catching the name. '_Bondage and BDSM: An Introduction,'_ she repeated curiously in her mind. It sounded as tasteful as it could possibly be she supposed. The group soon changed subjects, going on to talk about the boring lecture they got from Professor McGonagall after getting caught and other subjects she was equally uninterested in. She went back to looking for the book, repeating the name in her head, trying to keep herself on track.

"OH BUGGER! She's waiting for me, I almost forgot!" The boy screamed, running out of the library, and leaving his things behind. His friends, who were equally surprised, chased after him, grabbing most of his stuff and taking them with them.

She tried to ignore them and continued looking for the book. Finally finding it, she quickly grabbed it and went to leave, passing by the table the group sat at to see if her intuitions were correct. And they were. Near the edge of the table laid alone the book the boy was so carelessly swinging around in the air earlier. She ran her fingers over the cover, sliding it into her bag before running out.

Out of breath, she stopped in front of the door to Snape's classroom to recollect herself before entering. She took a deep breath and walked inside. "Sorry if that took long, there was some traffic in the library," she lied. He stared at her, giving her a look that made her wonder if he knew better. She smiled awkwardly, sitting back down in her spot directly across from him. She wrapped her book bag around itself, to make sure nothing accidentally slipped out, and placed it on the floor next to the back legs of her stool.

"Is that so?" He took the book from her and placed it to the side of his desk, showing absolutely no interest in it. He intertwined his fingers together and cleared his throat. Her uncomfortable behavior spoke volumes; she wasn't fooling anyone. "Do you have something to say? Speak up now." His eyes narrowed, determined to get to the bottom of things, she assumed. His presence was growing, as if it wasn't already impossible to ignore.

"N-no! It's nothing important! Sorry!" She laughed, trying to think of something to change the subject with. She brought up the first thing that came to mind. "What did you want that book for anyway? Is it about something you're planning to teach us in class?"

"Which is it? Do you not want to share or is it nothing?" The words rolled off his tongue, ending each word with a sharp click.

She found herself in an uncomfortable position. "It's nothing, really." She picked up her pencil and tried to look busy so he wouldn't question her any further. He said nothing more on the matter but she could still feel his burning gaze on her. She felt guilty for lying to him, and if these was a way to explain herself without putting herself in a compromising position she would. She also had a feeling if she said anything more she would basically be digging herself her own grave. Snape was very cunning and knew the right things to say to get what he wanted. It was best to avoid his questions all together.

Not much time passed before Snape dismissed her. She could tell by the slight change in his body language he was feeling uneasy, but she pretended not to notice. She clutched her book bag firmly in her hand, ready to get out of there with it. Hermione took the quickest route back to the dorms, nearly slipping as she went.

She sat on her bed with the curtains drawn around her, giving her the most privacy she could in the noisy dorm room. The book was in front of her, and now with the opportunity she had no idea what to do. '_This wasn't considered stealing was it?'_ She thought, running her fingers over the silky cover. The librarian would have have a heart attack if she saw something like this lying around, and the boy it belonged to probably would have gotten in trouble for having it. Perhaps in a way she was doing everyone a favor? Somehow she had trouble convincing herself that completely, but it was a good enough excuse for now.

With a deep breath she took the book into her arms and began reading the back cover. '_So, BDSM, huh?'_

She had heard of it before in books, which oddly enough seemed to be a constant underlying theme in most of the fiction she'd read secretly, but she never actively sought it out. So in a sense it wasn't like the 'kink scene', as the book described it, was entirely new to her. She replaced the awkward paper book cover with another random book cover lying around her room and set it on her lap, flipping it to index page. The book itself seemed to be a more informational take on BDSM, describing the ethics and emotional impact of the play more then the play itself.

She skimmed over the forward, her eyes darting across the small print font until something caught her eye. It was a small passage about spanking, flogging and other methods of punishment, whatever that was. She felt her face flush and she adjusted the book awkwardly, hiding it more in her lap. Her eyes scanned the passage again, trying to keep images of Professor Snape and his flogger out of her mind for long enough to take it in.

Confused about some of the terms used, she flipped back a few pages to read the basics. _Okay,_ she thought, again shifting into another sitting position. _So a dominant is the one who typically does the whipping as either for play or as punishment for his submissive._

She furrowed her eyebrows, continuing onto the section describing the role of the submissive. The submissive decides their own boundaries and consents to everything done to them. At first she was confused with who would ever consent to something like being controlled or whipped, but when asking herself the same question her answer was slightly more complicated than a simple 'yes' or 'no'. On one hand answering yes; that she would consent to such a thing would make her question her own well-being. While whipping was definitely out of the question, the more mild forms of punishment such as spanking didn't sound so bad. And on the other hand, answering 'no' felt more forced than anything.

The more she read on the subject the less perverse it sounded. The way everything was described in the book actually made it sound better than typical relationship dynamics in some ways. Everything seemed to revolve around both partner's consent, so it wasn't like the dominant partner had all the power and could use and abuse their submissive partner as much as they pleased.

She closed the book and stuffed it under her pillow, having had enough of it for the day. Her head was jumbled up with a cloud of messy thoughts and confusion. She didn't want to admit to herself her sudden interest in the subject could indicate something else. While the book had changed her opinions on some things, one thing it couldn't change was the negative social stigma attached to it. Admitting she liked it meant she was basically classifying herself as a weird sexual deviant with past trauma, like she had been so quick to accuse Snape of being before. But when she thought of Snape now she saw none of those things.

She closed her eyes and pulled the covers over herself. Lately she hadn't been getting enough sleep; there were too many things to do and thoughts running through her head. She never had time to herself, something she had come accustomed to from studying so much before, and now whenever she did she was plagued with thoughts of her predicament. For once all her stress wasn't entirely academic-related. Once she realized how tired she was, like a blessing, sleep quickly took her.

_"My, my, Ms. Granger, now what did I say about running your mouth?"_

_She looked up at him from her spot kneeling on the floor. The space around them was pitch black, only the two of them alone in the dark void of the room, wherever it was at. Snape stood ahead of her more dressed down than usual. His collared shirt was unbuttoned halfway down his chest, and his overcoat was laying lazily off to the side along with his thin leather belt._

_The first thing she noticed about herself were the ropes. Her arms were tired firmly behind her back, her wrists to her ankles. The second thing she noticed was the cool breeze between her thighs. She clasped them as firmly together as she could. She wasn't wearing much either, hardly anything in comparison. Her blouse was completely undone, and the plaid school skirt she often sported was much shorter than she remembered._

_"I'm sorry Professor, I didn't mean to-"_

_"I've had enough of your excuses. Actions have consequences." Severus wrapped one arm around her waist, playfully tugging at the rope with one hand, and firmly held her chin up with the other. His hands were rough, and she enjoyed the texture. She closed her eyes to focus on how it all felt. She could sense him hovering above her, more of his touch almost within reach. She wanted more of his body on her, but couldn't do much in her current position. The ropes were tight and severely limited her movement. She was sure that was how Professor Snape preferred it._

_The air was heavy, and for once Hermione didn't want to think. When she was with him it was like the burden of everyday life was taken off her. Always being 'the brains'; the one who was always expected to know the right thing to do and figure things out made Hermione feel like Atlas, bearing the weight of the world upon her shoulders.. It was nice, maybe once in a while, not to have to worry about such things._

_"Children get punished for playing games Granger." His voice was raw. He ran his palm down her neck, it sent shivers through her spine. She arched her back, bringing herself closer to him. Her skirt hiked higher up her thigh, revealing the lace trim of her underwear. But only the slightest. His eyes wandered below for a fraction of a second._

_"How shameless Miss Granger." His expression remained unchanged, and just as unreadable as ever._

_She watched him, fully engrossed, and excited for whatever was going to happen next. He pulled out something familiar from behind his back. She gulped. An eager moan escaped her lips._

Hermione jumped out of bed, gasping.

She didn't know what had come over her. Not in a million years could she ever picture herself doing anything like that. She felt dirty and embarrassed that not only was she having strange kink-centric dreams about her teacher, but because of how her body now still twitched in excitement because of it. Her pleading thoughts still echoed uncomfortably in her head. She bit her bottom lip, hard. She regretting picking up the book. She would return it tomorrow.


	5. His Chambers

**AN:** Hey, it's me as always.

Hope you're pleased with how this is going. I've had good luck with writing this month and have been able to produce longer chapters each update. Hopefully this continues.

Also I created another story series on here basically following the same student/teacher thing, except with little plot and mostly smut. I'm not sure what it's going to be yet but it might just be a collection of drabbles. It's not really important to this story but I just thought I'd explain a bit.

Thanks for the favorites, follows, and the reviews. I cannot explain how much I love receiving feedback.

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><p>Hermione loosened the collar around her neck, her hands shaking slightly as she undid the first button on her blouse. It was much too hot in the hallways, and that combined with her nervousness made the discomfort almost unbearable. Snape was walking her way, heading to his classroom. As his eyes caught hers the suspicious expression on his face from the day before returned. His eyes studied her, dipping at the undone button then shooting away.<p>

Getting rid of the book would prove to be a challenge. She hadn't fully figured out what she was going to do with it yet. She supposed anything was better than keeping it. Her main plan was to leave it somewhere in the library where the Slytherin boy could possibly find it again, but she wasn't ruling out the idea of ditching it in a toilet stall.

Upon arriving in the classroom she sat a few seats down from where she would normally be. She was too obvious yesterday, practically fanning it's existence in her Professor's face. After placing all the stuff she would need for this period on her desk she slid her nearly empty bookbag under her thigh. With all the people around she didn't trust leaving it anywhere anyone but she could get to it. Unforchantly sitting so near the back put her closer to where Malfoy usually lurked. She didn't think he would try anything but it was something she noted.

"Granger," called an unpleasant voice._ Speak of the devil_, she thought, trying to look busy.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Hermione flipped through the pages of her textbook, skimming the passage.

"Why was I marked off for 'coffee stains' on my paper'? What kind of bullshit reason is that?" He shot back.

"And why do you think it was me? That sounds disgusting. Think about the poor Professors who have to handle your food-encrusted papers."

"Very funny, _mudblood_. I know it was you. Who else hangs around the Potions Professor like an eager-to-please lapdog."

She stood up to give him a piece of her mind. "You listen here, you over-privileged pureblood twat-"

"That will be enough Ms, Granger." Snape intervened, putting himself in between the two. He took the paper from Draco and held it to his chest. "I will fix this for you. Sit down." He shot Hermione an annoyed look.

"Thank you, Professor Snape. Oh, and you should really see what she's hiding in her bookbag. I think she might have stolen something for her idiot friends." He returned to his seat, loudly pulling out his chair before he plopped himself down.

Hermione stayed quiet, glaring into the pages of her textbook. Her face was hot. She wondered how Snape could stand up for someone like him. He was most likely trying to make things easier for the both of them by giving into Draco's unrealistic demands, but still. He called her that word. Wasn't that also worth a scolding? Or did it not mean anything to him.

The class settled down and Snape began his lesson. Still upset over everything, Hermione couldn't pay attention to what was being taught. She would have to go back over everything in her textbook tonight when she was more level-headed. She couldn't stand that she could hear Draco snickering behind her. She tried to tune everything out, focusing on the wall to her side. Her finger fiddled with the zipper to her bookbag.

The bell went off quicker than she had hoped, and Hermione again stayed behind. She hadn't said a word since the beginning of class, refusing to show even the slightest bit of attention till her feelings were recognized. She say Snape approaching her out of the corner of her eyes.

"Granger, your bag please."

Hermione instinctually hid it behind her and shook her head rapidly, "You don't believe him do you?"

"Children get punished for playing games Granger." All the blood drained from her face and she was dumbfounded. Looking outside the window, as far away from him as possible, she weakly handed him the bag. She heard him rustling with her belonging until he came across something and suddenly stopped. She refused to look at him but she had a good feeling she knew what he found. He flipped through through the pages, taking an excruciatingly long time to get through it.

When he was finally finished he looked up, his eyes like daggers. He started slowly, "Do you want to talk about this?"

She didn't know how she was going to get out of this one. "No, I would really rather not."

"Sorry, I phrased that as a question when_ in fact it was a statement_. As your Professor we are going to talk about this right now. Do you understand how much trouble you would be in if anyone else found this, Ms. Granger?" She was not going to get out of this one.

Still refusing to return his eye contact she looked down at her hands, fiddling nervously with them in her lap.

"Ms. Granger," He dropped the book loudly on the table to get her attention, and as he thought her eyes darted up. "Pay attention."

She bit her lip and refocused her eyes, nervously meeting his own. They were dark, intense. She could tell he was serious, and she couldn't believe what was happen. How could he take his word over hers, after all this time they've spent together?

"Okay," she started, spouting out the first thing that came to mind, "It isn't mine-I, I just picked it up because I was interested but please, I wasn't the one who brought this into the castle; it was another Slytherin boy."

He pursed his lips. "Ah."

Realizing the implication of what she said she quickly picked up where she left off. "No, it's not like that. I mean it was just a random Slytherin boy I met in the library-" She stopped again, embarrassed she wasn't able to find the right words to explain herself. She studied Snape's expression. The more she went on the more annoyed he seemed to get.

"I am not particularly in the mood to hear about your _apparent _wild affairs."

Determined to clear her name she continued, even daring to interrupt Snape to do so. "I'm not having any wild affairs! I was just curious and I took the book when they accidentally left it at the table!"

"So, there was more than one of them now?" She went silent, not sure how to reply to that. For a second she could have sworn her heart stopped beating.

He sighed, folding his arms over each other. "_Sarcasm_, Granger."

Relief hit her like a wave, momentarily calming her ever-racing heart. She took the shortvery few silent moment she had before Snape continued his lecture to recollect herself. How was this happening? Her face was burning and she held back tears.

"Now what should I do about this?" He stood up, pacing around her threateningly. "I tried giving you detention time and time again but it never does get the message through your skull."

"I'm sorry." She blurted out. "I was curious, I wanted to learn. There was no other way. Would you rather have me find another student to teach me?"

He didn't answer. He looked away, which Hermione found odd. It almost looked as if he was bothered by the suggestion.

"Until I can think of a suitable punishment for you you may return to your room." She nodded quickly, removed herself from the room. Her stomach was turning. She felt like she was going to vomit. She stopped at the nearest bathroom and stumbled into the nearest stall. Her head hovered above the toilet seat, waiting for something to happen. Eventually her stomach calmed down and she sat down on the seat.

Her face was on fire, and more than anything she wanted to cry but she wouldn't let herself. She felt angry that he was so insistent, but she wasn't at all surprised. She wasn't thinking when she brought the book with her a second time. Of course Snape would automatically assume she was up to no good. She stood up, carelessly slamming the stall door shut behind her. She stared at herself in the mirror and just as she thought her face was flushed and eyes swollen. She turned on the sink and rinsed her face in the cold water. She really didn't want to know what Snape thought of her now.

Hermione got no sleep that night. She couldn't get that day's confrontation out of her head. By all means she was a practical girl, but if she could rather die of some unknown cause instead of having to see him tomorrow she would pick that option.

She was lucky and Snape's presence was called upon elsewhere halfway through her class period, delaying her awkward encounter for a while longer.

Class was over and Hermione finally had to return back to his classroom to face him. The entire day she had been doing her best to avoid him as much as she could. If she had to go get something she would take the long way around the other side of the room rather than pass by him. She didn't want to see how he looked at her now. A few times, she thought he might have noticed and lingered by her desk, but she was sure she was just imagining things. The only way she could picture that truly having been the case was if it was out of some kind of pity. Draco's dumb outburst the other day must have planted something in his head.

She wasn't a dumb school girl with a crush on her Potions teacher. She refused to believe so, but the fact that she had to convince herself made her wonder if it was really true or not. He was always on her mind as of late. She would be crazy to deny that hadn't meant anything. Even if it was, there was no way he shared the same feelings. With her being a student and him being her teacher; it was literally a disaster waiting to happen.

She gulped, waiting for her classmates to clear the room. As they filed out, one by one, the atmosphere became heavy and again Hermione found it difficult to breathe. The last student left, letting the door close loudly behind him and she took it as her cue to enter.

"Ms. Granger." He said, noticing her immediately.

She couldn't bring herself to look up. She clenched her fists. Hermione had prepared herself for his worst.

"Yesterday…" he began, "Yesterday, I was going to ask if you would care to help me collect mushrooms from the Forbidden Forest. They're a special kind that we are lucky enough to have growing right in our backyard. I will need them for class next week."

But it wasn't. His voice was gentle. She nodded, still looking down at her nails.

"You may leave for now if you wish. Come back here to meet me before supper ends."

She calmed enough to return his gaze. There was a kindness in his expression she had only seen a few times before, when they were working together on grading papers or when he laughed at something witty she said. Though the hurricane inside her gut was still raging on, things hadn't turned out nearly as bad as she thought.

"No, I'll stay. I haven't felt very hungry as of late." She forced a small smile.

"Nonsense. I insist that you go eat. You look peaked."

"I'm really fine."

He didn't look convinced. "Please, go eat and come back when you're done. I'll be waiting."

Finally giving in she took her stuff and headed off to the Great Hall. She didn't have much time left to eat anyway, she would have been better off staying in the classroom. There was no way she could force anything down in her current state. A large portion of students were heading back to their common rooms or lingering in the hallways. The Gryffindor table was just as lively as always. She was happy to see Harry and Ron were still sitting at the usual tables eating.

"Where have you been?" Ginny asked, greeting Hermione to the table with a smile. Hermione was surprised she hadn't already heard.

"Detention." Ron interjected.

"I still can't believe this all started from something so small." Harry remarked.

"I can believe it." Ron added, "You know how she is. Always running her mouth. "

"Shut it," Hermione said. "I was just trying to tell him I found some of the information out of the textbooks he was teaching us with were outdated. I wasn't trying to upset anyone."

"He gave you this much detention for _that_?" Ginny asked in disbelief.

"No, er, not exactly," she said, glaring daggers at Harry and Ron. "The first two were for that. The rest of them were because these two somehow convinced me into sneaking out with them to see a stupid fireworks show. You two should be grateful he let us off so easily."

Harry leaned forward, "I wonder why he felt the need to personally oversee your punishment? The rest of us have to deal with Professor McGonagall and 5am volunteer work around the castle." The suspicion in his tone was evident. "It can't be coincidence. I think he's planning something."

"He's not planning anything against us, Harry! Please, he is our teacher and he is only doing what is right." Hermione was quick to jump in. She had no idea where Harry was getting this from. She wondered how they could be so quick to judge him.

"You're very quick to defend him Hermione," Ron butted in. "You know, I heard Malfoy saying something about Snape having a soft spot for you... If you keep it up everyone's gonna start saying you two are _in love_."

"_Ron_!" Ginny scolded, pushing him aside. "Don't listen to him. He's just being an arse." Hermione smiled, satisfied with at least Ginny having her back. She tried to listen to Ginny's advice but she couldn't help but think over Ron's words. Was that really what people thought about her and Snape?

Ron rolled his eyes, got up and pulled Harry along with him. "Well, me and Harry have some business to attend to somewhere else. I hope you two have fun kissing Professor Snape's arse." Harry stood up and followed behind, meekly waving goodbye before he left.

Ginny sighed, putting a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Don't worry about them. Really, the two of them never have any idea what they're talking about."

Ron's words echoed in her head again, worry written all over her face. That wasn't a rumor she really wanted to encourage. It would only cause trouble for the both of them, especially Professor Snape. For his sake, she would try to keep her distance from this point forward, or at least when people were looking.

Soon she said goodbye to Ginny and ran off, leaving five minutes before they all were to return to the common rooms. She sprinted down the hallways, stopping when she saw Snape's dark figure standing in the distance. She wondered how long he had waited there for her. She felt guilty about how badly her friends had talked about him before. If only they had got to know him the way she did, they would have known he could actually be rather agreeable. "Sorry, I hope I didn't keep you long."

His eyes lit up as he turned to her. "No, no. It's fine. I'm assuming you took so long because you ate like I suggested."

She nodded, suddenly noticing the hunger pains in her stomach. Maybe she should have listened to him. It wasn't often he was wrong.

He sighed and turned away, leading her down the hallway. "Considering all the times you've been out past curfew hours before I assume you know what I'm about to say. You must stay by my side and in my sights at all times. Wandering off, even for a second, will not be permitted." She followed him out the nearest exit, noting the incoming storm clouds in the distance. She hoped they made it back in time before the weather took a turn for the worse. Hermione couldn't imagine anything worse than being caught in a storm in the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night.. From his expression he was probably thinking the same as she.

She followed him a decent length into the forest before they came across a small clearing filled with strange looking mushrooms. They all were colored slightly differently but had the cone shaped heads. Snape stopped and pulled out a gardening tool to hand to her. "Strange little things aren't they? I don't recommend touching the boils on them. They carry a puss-like substance inside of them that leave an unpleasant tingling sensation on the skin. They are good for brewing potions, but not much else."

Hermione mentally noted everything he said, hoping this would come in handy in their next test. "What kind of brews are they used for? And their alternative uses, if any?"

"The brews I will go over in class, but the alternative uses are not so child-friendly Granger." He shoved his trowel into the dirt, beginning to collect the mushrooms.

"I am not a child-," she corrected, in an irritated tone, "you can tell me what they're used for."

"Yes, of course." The corner of his mouth lifted, in a small crooked smile. "They can also be used in potions or mixtures of the sexual sort, but I do not teach those kinds of things to students."

Hermione blushed, embarrassed she had said anything in the first place.

After collecting a good amount of the mushrooms she handed a small pile to him, confused with what to do with them. Without much of a thought he shoved them into the pockets thick overcoat. It was kind of strange, her noticing little things about him like that. For the incredibly intelligent man he was, he often had a simple answer for the problems placed in front of him. She found it oddly charming.

From above she heard thunder rumbling. She bit her lip, wondering if the forest could get any creepier.

From the corner of her eye she noticed something dark shoot by. She wondered if she was just imagining things, but Snape had noticed too. She starting to ask a question, only to be shushed by her narrow-eyed Professor. She backed up closer to him, his presence behind her comforting. They readied themselves, pulling out their wands and holding it in defensive position. He grabbed her wrist, pulling her behind him. The dark flash whipped by again and she was pushed against the tree by her Professor, shielding her with himself.

His body pressed against hers, one palm over her mouth and the other other firmly holding her against the tree. She stopped breathing, afraid even that was too loud. Snape checked around the corner. After he decided the coast was clear he abruptly let her go, taking a few steps away. He mumbled an apology and turned away, picking right back up where he left off. She held her place against the tree, her nails still digging into the bark. She hoped that from where she was standing he could not see the warmth grow on her face.

"I apologize if I frightened you."

She shook her head and stumbled forward, returning back her position kneeling beside him. Her shaky hands searched for the trowel. Her hand came across something warm and fleshy - Snape's hand. He intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Let's head back."

"No, please, let's finish up." she forced out an awkward laugh, "I understand it was just a precaution. There could be anything out here…"

He didn't look convinced with her answer, but he stayed none the less. His hand lingered over hers for a few seconds longer before they both pulled away and went back to harvesting mushrooms in silence. After they collected a decent amount of them, filling up all the pockets on their coats, they decided to head back to the castle. Just in time, she thought as tiny droplets of water started to fall from the sky.

Snape lifted up his cloak, sheltering both of them from the rain that began to engulf them. "Is that all for today?" She asked, holding tightly onto the edge of his cloak.

"Yes," he replied, hurrying her to the nearest entrance. "Thank you for your help, Granger."

Hermione was mostly unacquainted with the part of the castle they were in. All she knew was that one hallway lead to the Potions classroom and the other one lead to the Slytherin common room. He made a sharp turn right into a unknown door and she did her best to follow him, jogging quickly behind him into the room.

The room was lined with shelves of potions and other miscellaneous jars that gave off a strong bitter-sweet odor. She had heard about this place before from students unlucky enough to end up here after class. It was Professor Snape's office. Aside from the jars there wasn't much else in the room, only the bare essentials, a desk and a chair to make it somewhat liveable. To the far left there was a table hidden behind one of the shelves, and she followed him into there.

"I assume you want to refresh yourself here instead of heading back to the Gryffindor dorms and waking everyone up." He disappeared behind a large cloth that was draped over another opening, leaving her to her own devices. The room was about the size of her parent's master bedroom back at home and had a similar set up. There was a large bed in the furthest corner of the room, a fireplace, and a decently-sized bath to the right.

She cast a spell on herself, removing all trace of water and dirt of her clothing. It was good enough for now but nothing replaced a good hot bath.

Snape returned to the room again with a tray holding enough tea for two. "You may use the bathe if you want but I understand if it's something you're not comfortable with. You may also leave whenever you are ready." He handed her a mug and took a seat in front of the fireplace.

She took a sip out of respect, but quickly put it down aside her because the heat burnt her hands. She watch Snape sit quietly at the fireplace, holding his mug firmly with both hands. The skin on his hands must have became thick from working with potions for so long. Their rough texture was also something she noticed when his hand were crossed with hers. Thinking back to that, she could feel her face begin to flush.

Before running off to the restroom she muttered a small thank you. Like the rumors she had heard about the teacher's private quarters, the restroom has a luxurious feel to it. The walls and tiles were pure black, and everything matched the simple monotone color scheme. The bathroom was very cold unlike the rest of his room and she hurried to turn on the water once she stripped her clothes off.

There was only one bottle of unknown soap sitting at the corner of the tub. Hermione smiled, assuming it was the one he used for everything. It was a very male-minded trait he shared with her friends. She stopped the water flow when the tub filled halfway and impatiently stepped in. The water not being too cold or too hot, she quickly made herself comfortable in the tub. Despite the unwelcoming colors of the room she thought she could spend hours like this, relaxing in Snape's tub. She didn't keep track of how long she spent in there in between washing her bushy hair, she forgot she was to be heading back to her dorm soon. When she finally got out she rushed to get all her clothes back on, afraid she had long stayed her welcome.

Steam escaped into the mainroom as she meekly opened the door. Snape, who was still on his chair, had fallen asleep. She took her spot back on the floor and said nothing, staring off into the fire. Her tea had gone cold.

She continued to remind herself that she had to leave, that under no circumstances was she to stay there. She thought back on Snape's words, lazily laying her head down. He didn't sound like he was too rushed to get her out of her room. If he was he would have made sure to stay away long enough to kick her out. She considered waking him up to ask him what he wanted, but right now asleep, he looked the most at ease than she's ever seen before. After some convincing she let her eyes close and drifted off to sleep.

She woke up on the mattress, tucked into emerald sheets.


	6. A Wake-up Call

AN: Hey! I'm really happy with all the positive feedback I've been receiving lately. You guys are amazing. So now that we've gotten onto the real plot expect chapters to be more around this length or longer. I'm still in the process of editing the first 3 chapters just in case anyone was wondering. I'm focusing all my time on making more content so I haven't had time to go back and edit the rest.

And here's another shout-out to my amazing beta reader RPGgirl514 who is super helpful and perfect. If you haven't already please check out her stuff!

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><p><em>She woke up on the mattress, tucked into emerald sheets.<em>

Hermione's eyes fluttered open, fading in from static. She rubbed her eyes, pushing the sheets off to the side and rising to elbows. _Ah, that's right._ She looked around the room, the memories of the night before slowly making their way back into her head. She was inside Professor Snape's bedroom. She had another one of _those _dreams. She shuddered, pressing her thighs firmly together. Thinking about her Professor that way in his own bed, she worried, biting her lip, _how dirty_. Her eyes darted to the chair when he had been asleep before. When she found he wasn't there she wasn't entirely surprised. She just hoped wherever he was he would return soon, she didn't know what to do with herself alone in his quarters.

She looked around the room, trying to get the dream out of her head., more of its fine intricate details sticking out in the dim early morning daylight then the burnt-amber glare of the fireplace. Everything in the room looked ancient, like the beautiful old wooden furniture in her house her parent's got from their parents, their parents before them and so on. She assumed the windows the lights were coming from were artificial being as far into the dungeons they were, but beautiful nonetheless. The curtains above it were mostly closed, but opened enough in the corners that it allowed the light to illuminate that room. From her side she heard a deep groan. She turned, and much to her surprise it was Snape lying asleep aside her. _There he is, _she thought, immediately comforted by his presence.

He wore a loose fitting white button up with his plain black school slacks. She brought the sheets back up from the edge of the bed and put it back on top of him. _What am I doing here? _Hermione wondered what happened to her resolve yesterday.

His chest rose and fell with every steady breath. She wasn't doing him any favors by hanging around so closely. She didn't know what she was thinking, spending the night in her Professor's bedroom. He must have not said anything to be polite. She had to be completely out of her mind to stay anyway. If anyone were to find out, her actions would reflect badly on him. Technically she was a year over the age of consent, but that still didn't excuse sleeping with her teacher. Even in the most innocent of terms.

The stress wrinkles on his face were settled as much as she imagined they ever could be. She noticed it last night too. He looked so calm. She moved her hand towards him, not sure what she was going to do it but quickly pulled back when he started to murmur himself awake. Unsure of what to do she quickly closed her eyes and faced the ceiling. The sheets rustled, and Snape was off his back, rolled onto his side. He cleared his throat and repositioned himself on the bed. Her eyes were sealed shut, but she soon felt his strong gaze rest on her. It made her uneasy, as his gaze always did.

He softly ran his hand across her face, which surprised her. It took every ounce of her control not to jump back. He brushed her bushy hair out of her face, resting his hand in place for a second before removing himself from the bed. She heard him storm off into another room and a door clicking behind him.

_What was that?_ She asked herself, raising her hand to her cheek. She could still feel his lingering touch on her. She shook her head, trying to get a hold of herself. Right now she didn't have time to be lovestruck. She got up from the bed and got ready to leave, putting on her socks and shoes that were neatly placed near the edge of the bed. Finished, she took another look around the room, surveying it. There was one place she hadn't looked. Her eyes looked to the hidden hallway in the corner, completely blocked out of view by the drapery.

She hesitated, afraid to betray Snape's trust if it had been anything he wanted to hide. Still, curiosity got the best of her and she began moving in its direction. To her surprise it was just a small kitchen with a small table for one and storage room. In comparison to his office workspace and bedroom this room was a bit messier and looked more lived-in. The wallpaper was a yellowing minimalistic floral pattern and was chipping off in spots. In a way, seeing how he lived showed her a different part of him, like the other day when she was surprised to see him carelessly fill his pockets with mushrooms. Professor Snape really wasn't that rigid unfeeling person she had been convinced he was only a few months before. She got a lot of similar comment about herself from her peers but experiencing the feeling firsthand was strange.

"I see you found your way to the backroom." Snape entered the room from behind her. He swayed his wand, a warm mug of coffee headed her way.

She took the mug and lifted it to her nose. It smelled richly of pumpkin spice and vanilla bean. She was usually more of a tea person but she would let it slide this time. "Thank you. It smells amazing."

"I'm glad you like it." He sat down at the table, pulling a chair out for her to join him. "I assumed you wanted to floo back to your common room before the others awoke. It's still very early so you can leave after you _eat_." To be honestly, she wasn't feeling very hungry that morning but she picked up an apple anyway from a tray on the center of the table and awkwardly brought it to her lips. Hermione took a bite, chewing it slowly. He was oddly persistent about watching her eat.

Satisfied, he huffed, sat back in his chair and began to read the Daily Prophet, taking a long sip of coffee. His eyes darted impressively fast across the page, quickly flipping to the next as expected of a Hogwarts professor. He cleared his throat, disrupting the silence she had oddly found more soothing than not. "I thought over what happened yesterday and I decided on a proper punishment for having _smut_ on your person."

"Ah." She was hoping he had forgotten about that.

"You have a free class period next quarter, am I correct?"

She nodded, not quite catching on.

"You will be aiding me with some of the things you have already been doing. I have been in need of a teacher's assistant for sometime now."

"Y-yes it would be no problem at all!" She piped, sounding more excited then she intended. She hadn't noticed a smile was plastered to her face as she spoke. If he was asking her to be his assistant, something that required them both being in close proximity for a good portion of the day, it must have meant in some way he enjoyed having her around. Still, it sounded like a bit of a stretch but she knew he definitely wouldn't ask Harry or Ron to substitute detention with him for the same thing.

Her overenthusiastic response caught him off guard, but he looked pleased. "I'll only need you to be here during that period and occasionally after school but you are free to spend your lunch however you wish."

Out of nowhere a question formed in her head. Truthfully, it's something she had been wondering about for a while now, but she hadn't had the courage to bring it up before. She parted her lips to say something but quickly closed them, unsure of how to properly word it. "I've been meaning to ask, and excuse me if it's too intrusive, but considering you've been through my belongings it might not be too out of place."

"_Well_, spit it out already," Snape commanded.

She knew she would regret it later but it was too late to go back now. "What was that whiplike thing doing in your supply closet to begin with?"

He put the newspaper down and rested his chin on his palm. "For warding off Hagrid's creatures."

It was his turn to explain himself. "Really?" She tutted, mimicking his posture.

"I don't appreciate your persistence Granger, but if I must say," he cleared his throat again, and placed his mug to the side. "It's something I haven't used in years, so it was just as much a surprise to me when I found it in there." He didn't say it, but Hermione knew that he knew she was well aware of what it was used for. "And may I ask why you were interested in such a book?"

Hermione had already seen this coming but had not prepared a response.

"Well, I was already aware that that kind of stuff existed, but after I saw, er, your thing. It sparked my interest-"

He interrupted her, his tone as sharp as nails. "_And I hope that interest does not inspired you to seek out similar experiences._" He must have been referring to the remark she made out of frustration the other day. She beat herself up for saying something so careless, but in her defense he could have never know it would get such a distinct reaction out of him. It interested her. Hermione considered pressing the subject but decided against it.

"Not really," she gulped.

"Good." He straightened his posture and returned to reading.

Hermione took her time finishing her food then removed herself from the table. "I suppose I should be leaving now. Thank you for having me over." Snape nodded and lead her back to the mainroom. He pulled a small bag of floo powder off the ledge above the fireplace and poured some of it into her hands. Standing in the fireplace, about to floo herself back to her room she recalled her dream. It wasn't likely but she wondered if she had said anything strange in her sleep? She glance at Snape once last time before tossing the powder and muttering her destination. His expression told her nothing. "Gryffindor common room!"

It was strange seeing the place that was usually filled with so much life as silent as she was. She cast a spell, removing the ashes from her shoes and stepped onto the carpet. The same dim light that had highlighted Snape's room so beautifully made the room feel cold and lonely. She began towards the girl's dormitory tower, wondering why that was. Before she was halfway across the room someone appeared from the door, rushing out in a frenzy.

When the girl's bright red hair came into view she knew the identity of the person immediately. "Hermione, there you are!" Ginny smiled. "I was looking for you after supper. Someone told me you had detention with Snape again but I didn't think you would be out all night."

"OH! Yes, um, I got home really late and you were asleep by the time I got back." She lied.

"Ohh, and what time was that around? I was up pretty late waiting."

"...Er, I'm not too sure, sorry." Hermione gripped the strap of her book uncomfortably, shifting her way past her. "I am awfully tired though. I got up thinking I could get some extra studying in but I can hardly keep my eyes open."

"Hermione, listen," Ginny called, her suspicious undertone revealing itself. "If anything is going on you can tell me."

"It's nothing, really." Hermione answered quickly, still heading towards the door.

"Hermione, don't leave." Hermione finally stopped, not having the heart to go when Ginny was so genuinely concerned about her. "I'm really worried and if you don't tell me what's going on with you I'm going to tell someone about this."

Hermione bit her lip, realizing she would have to at least half spill the beans on this one. "Okay. Whatever you do, please do not tell Harry and Ron." She told her the story from the beginning truthfully, with some minor edits leaving out the awkward bits about the flogger since she wasn't sure how Ginny would react to that part.

"Oh, so you think you might be interested in Professor Sna-" Hermione shushed her, and bobbed her head around to see if anyone was eavesdropping. "Sorry, sorry. I was surprised." Ginny giggled, "Trust me, your secret is safe with me." With another outburst like that, Hermione wasn't so sure.

"I just hope you know what you're getting into." Ginny's sudden change in tone worried her. "Ron and Harry would go absolutely bonkers if they found out. And, you and Snape together as an item could get you both into some real trouble."

"I know," she replied back, her eyes falling to the floor. Hermione had already considered that, but despite how much she warned herself not to get too close she could never bring herself to listen to her own advice. They had spent so much time together already she had become accustomed to being by his side, and he was so different from anyone she'd ever met before. His intellect was refreshing.

Sensing her friends worry Ginny's voice perked up, "But don't get me wrong! I will support it!"

She smiled wearily, "Thanks." Though there was so much she couldn't tell her, Hermione was happy she had a friend she could confide in.

The rest of the day passed by slow. Hermione sat at her desk in Potions class, head resting in her hand, watching the clock tick. Her mind was unusually empty, and when she was able to think of something it always revolved around _him _somehow. Snape stood ahead of her in the front of the class, lecturing in his monotonous drawl. He asked the class a question, his attention immediately turning to her. His stare reeked of unashamed confidence, making her fidget uncomfortably as he looked her up and down. She stood still, unsure of what to do. When she didn't answer he looked surprised, but quickly picked someone else to answer his question.

Coming back to her senses she shook her head, nervously shoving her face behind her textbook. Unlike her, he was never afraid to meet her eyes during class. Which she guessed wasn't really out of place in his position as her professor, but she could never get over how direct his stare was. The thought brought her mind back to his interest in BDSM; a subject she's been avoiding completely since he confiscated the book from her.

_Dominant_, she remembered the term, seemed like his natural trait. There was no other way to describe it. Hermione couldn't help but find it alluring. She didn't know how she didn't notice this about him before. Maybe it was she just hadn't paid attention to it and the only difference was that it was thrown in her face everyday, not that she minded it. She waited behind after class, knowing she should have left.

"Granger," he said, calling her attention. "I wasn't expecting you to stay here today." Snape waved his wand, collecting a pile of pop quiz papers from the previous period to the front.

Hermione walked to the front, grabbing a chalkboard eraser. Happy to make herself useful."I thought since I'm going to be doing this soon anyways I might as well start helping you sooner rather than later." The dust flew around her, irritating her nose. She tried to fight the upcoming sneezing fit but eventually gave in to inevitability and sneezed into her elbow. He let her finish up erasing the rest of the board, amused with her reaction. She took his lack of protest as encouragement and she continued to help around the classroom, doing whatever she saw needed to be done.

She watched him from the corner of her eyes, studying his appearance. The words rolled out of her tongue, unexpected even to herself. "Why do you like stuff like that? Doesn't flogging hurt?" She wanted to bring up the subject again to continue the conversation they had earlier, but obviously not in the way she did. Her words even took herself back.

"_I suppose it comes with the territory._" He snarled. "I _would really _prefer not to talk about this here." He turned away, straightening a stack of papers.

Embarrassed, she sealed her mouth shut, very seriously considering the option of hexing herself so she could never say something so brainless again.

Snape sighed, and spoke again, softening the edge in his tone. "If you must, you may return here after your last class period. Now go eat Ms. Granger."

Nodding wildly Hermione jogged out of the classroom.

When she had gotten a decent distance away she slowed her pace. She didn't know what possessed her to say such a thing. She wondered if maybe Ron's moronic blunt outbursts were starting to rub off on her. In that case she wasn't really looking forward to seeing him in the Great Hall; she was afraid she would be less forgiving with him this time. At the end of the hallways she saw a familiar blonde head, who upon spotting her headed in her direction. His pale figure glowed in the dark halls. She considered stopping in her spot and dashing in the other direction but did her best to pretend she hadn't noticed him yet instead.

"Granger," he cooed, stopping in front of her. "Aw, coming back from detention again?" He was the last person she wanted to run into in an empty hallway at night. Hermione said nothing, hoping he would get bored with her and leave. She tried to walk past him but he stopped her again, maneuvering himself in front of wherever direction she tried to leave from.

"If you can help me out here I promise I'll play nice."

Hermione sighed, crossing her arms. The sooner she played along the sooner Draco would leave she supposed. "What is it?" She asked, hoping she wouldn't regret it.

He leaned against the wall, making himself comfortable before beginning. "It's actually a pretty funny story. A friend of mine accidentally left something a little risque in the library last time he was there and he's looking to get it back." Her heart skipped a beat, knowing exactly what he was referring to. She did her best to hide her involvement, but was unsure if her acting skills were up to par.

"What does that have to do with me?" She interjected, speaking between her teeth.

"Yeah, the funny part is that he says you were in the library with him when he lost it. Can you explain that to me?"

"I saw no such thing. That's absolutely disgusting, and if I did I would have reported it immediately. So consider your friend lucky he only lost it." Hermione scowled, and added a bit of a scoff as she spoke for effect.

Draco smirked, and moved in closer to examine her face. She instinctually jerked back and he choked out a laugh as she did. His thoughts were impossible to read, but not in the same way thought Snape's were. Draco was chaotic and erratic, she didn't believe there was a soul out there who could predict his actions beside his equally turbulent friends. The only way she pictured she could ever begin to understand his motivation behind being the biggest jackass she knew was if somehow he gained a sense of reason, or if she went completely insane. Which was more likely to happen first.

He pulled back and turned away. "I suppose you weren't completely useless today Granger."

Not knowing how to respond to that, or if she should respond at all, Hermione stood in place and angrily watched him leave the hallway. Her appetite was lost, but she continued off to the Great Hall anyway. She tried to perk herself up before she got there, worried her friends would ask too many questions and that she would explain herself in circles. The only person who may have noticed anything was Ginny, but she didn't ask, thinking Hermione would tell her on her own when she was ready.

After supper, Hermione finally returned to the Potions classroom, still uneasy about Draco's suspicious behavior. She tried to convince herself that he only volunteered himself to investigate to bother her, and that he wasn't actually on to anything, but she couldn't help but shake the feeling he knew more than he was letting on. Though, _on the brightside_, she thought, even if he had known anything, it's not as if he would betray Snape's trust. She knew the story, their fathers had been close for years. Draco was dumb, but he wouldn't do anything to upset Snape and thus upset his parents. She scratched her head, unable to let it go. What was he thinking?

Snape's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, calling her back into reality. "Now, what was it you wanted to ask me?"

And with those words, he had all of her attention.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:** Wow! I can't believe all the support I've been getting. I love you guys way too much. Sorry this chapter took longer than usual. I had a bit of writer's block and I've been busy with personal things. I think I'm going to start posting one chapter a week now to give myself more time. I feel kind of overwhelmed with my old posting schedule. Maybe this will give me more time to go back and edit those old chapters like I've been saying I would? -laughs- I also have a deviantart where I post a lot of SSHG-related fanart. Totally check it out if you have the time. The link to it is on my profile. Aswell as a link to where you can find this story on AO3.

And again, here's a special thanks to my beta reader **RPGgirl514**. She is amaazing.

* * *

><p>"Well," Hermione began, shuffling inside the classroom and locking the door behind her. She lowered her voice, worried someone might hear her, "Why are you interested in that sort of stuff? Not to criticize you. I'm just-"<p>

"Understood." He answered, cutting her off.

She frowned, realizing it was going to be a lot harder to get anything out of him then she thought, although she was surprised. Professor Snape was as obstinate a man as they came, his pure unadulterated stubbornness rivaling with even Ron's. It was no wonder why the two loathed each other. "Well, um," Hermione exhaled, "I was wondering why you liked whips."

She flinched beforehand, half expecting his response to be just as sharp as the one before. "That's a stupid question. If you have anything else more meaningful to ask me please do, I don't have all day." He turned back to his desk, fiddling with something just out of her sight. His reply wasn't exactly kind, but because he wasn't shutting her down completely this time she took it as a good sign to continue.

"You're right, that may not be the best way to phrase it." She rubbed her knuckles uncomfortably, trying to think of a better way of rewording herself. Carefully, she started again, "I was wondering why you are interested in that kind of stuff."

He spun around to face her, scowling, he obviously did not feel the same way. "Granger, you do not choose the things you enjoy." Though that again wasn't what she had meant, she let him finish. "If I could have chosen to like something more conventional, like stockings, don't you think I would?" He cleared his throat, and she tried to forget that she was in fact sporting stockings. She didn't know if she should take that compliment or an insult but went with the latter.

"Then when did you first notice you liked, er, that?"

"Under what pretenses are you asking this?"

"Er," she bit her tongue, her face beginning to flush. She asked herself the same question, but answered to the best of her abilities. "I may be interested in the subject myself."

He rolled his eyes and continued anyway, "I do not recall. It's been a very long time. I have not actively engaged in it for many years, not that it's any of your business. If I knew you were going to do this I may have let you keep the book instead. Or perhaps not. Who knows what you would get yourself into." Snape's eyes darted away, and he began cleaning the room with a wave of his wand. She let his words sink in as he continued his business moving around the classroom. He wasn't giving her any new information, making her efforts to learn more fruitless.

"I do have one more question." She said, interrupting the silence.

"Speak."

"That night at Hogsmeade… why were you there?" She had only asked because it was something the boys had been suspicious about.

"Are you accusing me of something Granger?"

She shook her head vigorously in response.

Snape sighed. "We aren't stupid. Professor Sinistra and I overheard one of your nitwit classmates talking about the event just meters away from where we were standing. I swear, you all think we're deaf." Hermione muffled a laugh behind her sleeve. "Obviously upon hearing that we went there to catch you brats in the act. Though I didn't expect to run into you there. I thought you knew better than to get into _anymore _trouble. But it must have been your two hooligan of friends idea. I will never understand why you hang around those two."

"There really aren't that bad once you get to know them." She was mostly speaking for Harry, though she dared not specify. "Thank you for that," she stammered. He gave her a confused look and she specified, "for keeping me out of bigger trouble. You didn't have to do it, and I also had not been expecting that at all considering.-" She stopped herself before she said something to ruin the moment.

He hesitated on his response. "You're welcome, Ms. Granger. I expect more out of you in the future."

_Thank you_, she repeated the words in her head. They still sounded off coming from him, but she was starting to get use to it.

He excused her from the classroom and she ran off to the Great Hall. Her stomach growled as the smell of seasonal food filled her lungs. Warm autumn displays of multi colored leaves, corn and pumpkins filled the room, and bright orange hues shown brightly above. Time had passed by so quickly, she couldn't believe it was midway through October. She gulped, and that meant that holiday break was on its way and she would have to return home. She was never too excited about returning to the muggle world during break because of magic restrictions and having to adjust to normal life, but now more so than ever.

As she approached the table Ron was the first to shoot up. "He's letting you eat now?" Everyone looked as if they were just beginning to dig in, meaning she couldn't have been any more than fifteen minutes or so late.

"What, do you expect him to starve me?" Hermione asked sharply, sitting herself aside him. Harry greeted her with a short nod.

"He would if it wasn't considered abuse 'Mione."

She sighed loudly and began to serve herself. There was no use fighting with him, she thought bitterly. Ron would believe whatever he wanted to. It wasn't like he knew Professor Snape like she did. Professor Snape could be polite and agreeable, if given the chance. She thought back to the night she had spent in his quarters and how he had treated her. She mindlessly stirred her mashed potatoes. They couldn't just go back to normal after they had basically shared the same bed together, could they? Something about that thought made her upset.

No, she did not want to lose the closeness she had experienced with him and it would be dumb to continue to pretend she didn't know why she felt this way. Before she had told Ginny she was interested in him to keep her off her trail, but now she wasn't sure that was the case. Thinking about him made her cheeks heat up; it wasn't a coincidence. She forced down a spoonful of potatoes, not at all in the mood to eat. She couldn't yet say it was a crush, like what she had felt for Ron at one point, but it was the next closest thing to that. Unless she was just in denial about it.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Ginny watching her, and then quickly bobbing her head away when Hermione turned to check. Obviously Ginny hadn't said anything about what she told her to the boys or they would have already hounded her for answers by now, but Hermione couldn't help but feel like what prompted her to ask in the first place was the persistence of the boys. It would be dangerous for her to continue to confide in her, despite how much Hermione wanted to.

It wasn't long before Hermione excused herself from the table and ran up to the girl's dormitory. She pulled the curtains down around her bed, giving herself the most privacy she could in a room filled with other students. She picked up where she last left off in her thoughts. She had trouble sleeping that night.

xxx

To her relief, she had no unwanted sex dreams about her professor that night. If she was lucky it would continue being that way from now on so she could focus more on Potions than avoiding his eye contact. When it finally came time to attend Snape's class, Hermione felt unprepared. Now that she had somewhat come to terms with her feelings for him, it made being around him slightly easier than before.

She studied his appearance and was in awe with how attracted she found herself to him. He wasn't a bad looking person like everyone was somehow convinced he was. She found his odd quirks charming, in the sense they were all so _Snape_. He caught her staring at him a few times, probably questioning her sudden change in attitude, and she didn't blame him. Going from afraid to meet his eyes, to curiously staring him up and down overnight was a bit of a stretch. He responded to it by calling on her raised hand more often, and even shooting her a small smirk when she answered correctly. She swore he sounded almost proud of how much she retained from his after class lessons. In a strange way, she was happy she could occupy so much of his attention.

A wild thought appeared in her mind, something she found ridiculously out of her character. What if she unbuttoned her shirt just a bit? Or 'accidentally' let her skirt rise up too high? She was certainly no Lavender Brown but that would definitely catch Professor Snape's attention. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't think of doing such a thing, but still, she was curious. How would he look at her then?

Her top few blouse buttons were already loose as it was, it only took a bit of stretching before they undid themselves. She leaned forward exposing the plump cleavage of her breasts and crossed her legs to the side. Getting her skirt to ride up on its own was a bit of a task, but not wanting to come off as too obvious she abandoned the idea.

Ahead of her she heard a gulp, and she knew it was Snape. She pretended she hadn't noticed anything and stared at her notes, watching him from the corner of her eye and lightly tapping the tip of her quill against her lips. He pressed his own lips firmly together, the rest of his face too out of focus for her to see the rest of his expression, and quickly turned away. She looked back up and stared at his back as he continued on to writing notes on the chalkboard. Disappointed, she uncrossed her legs and copied the notes down onto her paper.

She didn't know exactly what she had been expecting to begin with. Knowing how Snape was, his reaction could have meant a number of things. Her mind drifted to Ron, reminding her how undesirable she was time and time again. She would be lying if she said his words hadn't damaged her self image. Suddenly she felt ashamed, wondering how someone like her could make such a show out of herself. She wondered how she would look in the mirror. She folded her arms across each other over her chest, her face growing hot.

When the bell rang, Hermione packed her things into her bag and stood up, planning to quickly head over to the girl's restroom and comb back her bird's nest of hair. She held her textbook firmly over her chest, hiding her unbuttoned blouse.

A familiar clipped voiced called after her.

"Granger, _after class._"

She sat back down and stared at her shoes. He waited for the rest of the class to empty the room before addressing her, and she tried to look busy in the meanwhile, flipping mindlessly through her notes

"_What was that little display of yours earlier?_" He finally spoke.

"What do you mean?" She crossed her legs nervously, unintentionally repeating the same position as before.

He pursed his lips again. "Is this some kind of joke?" He was furious, she could see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. She gulped, realizing she had no other choice than to continue the charade. She didn't want to find out what he might do if he found out it had been intentional.

"I really don't know what you're talking about." She stressed her words, trying to sound annoyed.

"Button up your shirt Granger, or I will do it myself."

His words rang in her head, and strangely she was tempted to let him do just that. "Do it then." The words escaped her mouth before she was able to think them through.

"Do _not _test me," he growled low. He extended his arms toward her chest, and she held her breath. His long fingers wrapped themselves around the opening in her shirt, roughly buttoning it shut. In his haste the button below undid itself, causing him to come to his senses and retreat. He slowly dropped his arms to his side, staring momentarily at what was revealed underneath her blouse then back to her face. She felt her heart flutter, and she did something unexpected. She leaned forward, pressing her lips against his.

They both stood still, their lips planted firmly together. Just as Hermione began to regret her decision he started to kiss her back. Surprised, she tried to pull away, only to have him push her back against the wall and their lips meet again. She felt his tongue slide into her mouth, entangling itself with hers. She followed suit, wrapping her tongue around his and exploring. Snape's kiss was strong and wild, but so much more pleasant than what she had experienced seldom before. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in as close as she could. Hermione's head spun, her eyes unfocused. A soft moan escaped her, vibrating through their merged lips.

Snape abruptly jerked away, a flash of panic running through his dark eyes. He took a few unsteady steps back before turning away. "Leave now." He cleared his throat roughly, hiding the shakiness in his usually decisive tone.

Hermione bit her bottom lip. She fought the prick of tears welling up in her eyes. Her mind was still hazy, unable to comprehend what was going on. She was embarrassed, but more than anything confused by his actions. He had seemed to enjoy it also, but she knew better than to assume anything.

She ran out of the classroom, not bothering to collect her things.

Hermione wasn't one to skip classes but in this instance she felt it was necessary. She made herself comfortable at the back of the library, being as quiet as she could so no one would notice her hiding back there. The familiar dusty smell of the library comforted her immensely, as she tried to keep her mind off what she did. It had only been day two of skipping out on Potions but she felt like she almost had it all behind her. The incident from a few days before was beginning to feel like only a dream. She flipped the over-sized textbook she was resting in her lap over to the next page. With her nose placed comfortably inside these books she felt the strongest.

Recently she hasn't been spending enough time studying, not that she was behind, but she would like to get back to her normal studying schedule. Since she had already been planning to skip at least the next few months of Potions she had the perfect opportunity to do just that. She admitted her plan wasn't very well thought out,- or practical, but she didn't really have any other choice. There was no way she could show her face in that classroom again. If it was truly up to her, and her house head wouldn't get involved, she would never go back. She rubbed her temples. _Oh how comforting was the thought of never returning._

Twenty minutes into her cramming session she heard chatter begin to break out at the front of the library. The library the day before had been dead silent besides Madam Pince occasionally sliding books back on the shelves. The librarian rarely ever did it by hand so she had not to worry about being caught. Curious, Hermione peeked through the nearest bookshelf to see what was going on. Out of the corner she could just barely make out Professor Snape's dark figure aggressively talk over something with Madam Pince. His eyes darted over to her spot behind the bookshelf, and he started in her direction. Hermione quickly gathered her stuff together and rushed in the opposite direction, only to run into Snape, who had been expecting her eagerness to leave.

"Granger." He hunched forward, towering over her.

"P-P-Professor Snape! F-fancy seeing you here!" She tried to sound casual, but she wasn't fooling either of them.

"And I would say the same to you." He took her by the shoulder, roughly pulling her along with him. "I do not want to hear a single word out of you until after class, _understand_?" She shook her head violently.

He held firmly on to her coat until they reached the classroom, dropping her off at her desk. He growled a vicious warning to the rest of the class of what he would do to _anyone else _if he caught them skipping his class, and returned to teaching. The class stayed dead silent, but their confusion filled the air and she could feel their questioning eyes on her back. It wasn't until the class had retired and his full attention was turned back to her that the pent-up emotions from the day before overtook her. She skittishly waited for Snape to address her, expecting the full wrath of her Professor.

"What _were_ you thinking?"

She didn't answer him, her gaze resting on his shoes.

"I know you're not deaf. Answer me." Her eyes began to sting. She didn't want him to see her like this. "And not only today, but what you did yesterday was highly inappropriate."

She muttered gibberish under her breath. She couldn't fight the tears any longer. His eyes grew gentle, noticing her glistening eyes. "...Granger." She cupped her face in her palms, trying to muffle her cries, but to no avail.

"Don't _cry_." He slowly inched his arm around her and pulled her into a small embrace."I apologize for how I acted; you did nothing wrong. If I hadn't allowed any of this to develop in the first place you wouldn't have been pushed into the position you were in. I don't know what I was thinking when I let you stay in my room that night; I don't know what you must think of me now-"

"I don't think," she started in between sharp uncontrollable inhales, "-not what you think." Though because of her emotional state she wasn't about to fully articulate herself the way she had wished, he seemed to understand what she had meant. He wrapped his other arm around her, gently rubbing her back. He quietly held her in that position until her loud sobs calmed down into small huffs.

She rubbed her eyes, wiping her tears out of her face. "I liked the attention. And I don't care that it was inappropriate, or that you are my professor, or anything-"

Snape brushed her unruly hair out of her face and cupped her cheek if only for a second before sliding it away. "I understand." She didn't know what he meant by that, causing her to push away from his chest. He stared down at her, pursing his lips together, deep in thought. Hermione copied the action with her own, imagining his lips against hers. He said nothing, and instead met her forehead with a tender peck.

"We should continue this conversation somewhere else."

Hermione wiped her face with her over-sized sleeves, trying to look presentable enough before leaving the room, following closely behind him. He lead her down the hallway to where she only assumed was his office. The hallways were mostly empty, besides a few lone Slytherins heading in the opposite direction. Luckily they were too busy with wherever they were heading to bother paying her any attention. She must have looked like just another frightened student whom Professor Snape had pushed to tears - a common occurrence. She smiled a bit at the thought.

Upon entering the room Snape sat her down at his desk and rushed off to the familiar back door hidden behind the bookshelves. The dark eerie nature of the room did nothing to comfort her. She much preferred his bedroom to this, in here she felt like she was being stared at from all directions. She wondered if he purposely decorated this room to be intimidating. A few minutes later he reemerged with two mugs in hand and placed one of them in front of her. He sat across from her on the other side of the desk and stared at her. "Drink," he commanded, before taking a sip himself. Hermione did the same a few seconds later, too caught up in her thoughts.

_Professor Snape kissed me,_ she thought. It was only on the forehead but it was enough to make her heart flutter. The hot but drinkable liquid went down her throat, warming up her entire body. It was the same pumpkin spice coffee he had served her that last time she was over. She would have picked up on the distinct scent if her nose hadn't been clogged from her tears. Despite that the drink tasted just the same as the last time she had it, if not the tiniest bit more bittersweet.

"Do you feel better?" he asked, setting down his mug.

Hermione nodded, staring wide eyed back at him. She didn't know how to respond.

He cleared his throat and turned his attention to the wall, absentmindedly tapping his fingertips against the ceramic mug. "You must be tired. When you're ready to go I will walk you back to the portrait hole."

She bit her lip. She didn't want to leave. Despite everything that happened, she still wanted to be around him. She was also scared if she left things as they were things would change between them. Hermione didn't know if she could bear it if the next day he pretended the kiss never happened. _But if he insists…_ Hermione tensed her legs, preparing to stand up.

"Or you can stay here, if that isn't overstepping my boundaries."

Her heart nearly stopped. "N-no not at all. Actually I would prefer that." She unclenched her legs and wiggled into a more comfortable position. "Thank you."

He nodded, then collected their cups and stood up. "Come on then, you should clean up." He began towards the back door and she followed. "You know where everything is make yourself comfortable." The door clicked shut behind them.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:** Hello again! So my beta was kind enough to go back and edit the first 3 chapters and it's now readable! They have been updated, so remember to check it out! There are a few more new details added but nothing that really changes the story. I have a few more thing to edit in later chapters but other then that it should read fine. Just a reminded that my RPGgirl514 is amazing and I will continue to promote the shit out of her until the day I die.

Hopefully you will enjoy all the Snape-centric content in this chapter tho I had a lot of trouble writing this. ORZ Thanks again for all the feedback! You guys are really motivating and adorable as always.

Anyway, here you go!

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><p>Upon entering the room Severus offered her the seat in front of the fireplace, but Hermione declined, knowing it was his favorite spot, and sat on the carpet beside him instead. He hadn't seemed to regret having her over yet, though the uncertainty in his movements was evident. He tapped his fingers against whatever surface they came in contact with, which was currently the armrest. The rhythmic clicking of his fingers was muffled against the spongy fabric. Despite its obvious age the cushion hadn't stiffened, and she inched herself closer to him, eventually finding herself resting her head on the same rest his arm was draped across, only centimeters away from touching him. His fingers stilled.<p>

The fireplace was already lit when they entered, and she wondered if there was some kind of spell placed on it for when he was absent. A fireplace left alone was definitely a fire hazard. Hermione reminded herself to bring it up to Severus at some point. _Severus, _she thought, repeating the name fondly in her head. She had unintentionally begun to mentally address him by his given name. The name sounded strange, but not unpleasant, like it would roll off her tongue if she said it aloud.

"May I call you Severus?" she asked, eager to test it out. Just as she had thought, the name evoked a particular feeling. It was so strange coming out of her mouth, as she expect calling any of her professors by their first name would be. This was different though - he wasn't just another teacher to her.

"You may." He stared into the fireplace, his dark eyes clouded with thought. "I'm assuming that means I may call you Hermione then?"

She nodded, fighting a pleasured tremble. It was also strange hearing her first name come from her mouth, and not the usual sharp _Granger_.

"Strange not saying your name with the usual disdain-"

He read her mind, and she snorted, cutting him off. "Precisely!"

He smiled, glad to see her back to her usual self, if only for a moment. Eventually the laughter faded and the atmosphere returned to the awkwardness that had filled the room before. Snape spoke up, watching her out of the corner of her eye. "I am sorry about before. I'm glad you decided to stay, though in hindsight having you stay here again probably isn't the best idea." His body was tense, stiffly holding himself into place. His breaths were slow, controlled, and underneath his calm exterior she could sense the storm of emotions brewing within.

She tried to lighten the mood, if not for him, then for the both of them. "Only if someone catches us, which is very unlikely. I would expect someone like you is especially good at not getting caught."

Severus laughed, "You've heard too many rumors, but I suppose I cannot disappoint."

Hermione smiled in response. She hoped he was implying what she thought he was. He was still staring wistfully into the fireplace. She brought his hand to his, snapping him back into reality. The fireplace should have already been warm enough, but she still yearned for his warmth. His arm tensed for a moment then quickly relaxed. After he settled he returned the display of affections and gently took her hand into his grasp. "I am truly appreciative you stayed." She could tell he was doing his best to comfort her.

"It's a bit different hearing all these kind words coming out of you. I wouldn't have thought it was possible before." Hermione found herself moving closer to him, nuzzling her head into his thigh. She only thought it through after she had done it, feeling almost like a clingy puppy. She looked up at him, a little embarrassed, hoping she wasn't acting quite as irritating as she thought she was. Snape's eyes were closed and he looked relaxed as ever. Pleased, she in turn closed her eyes, enjoying the heat radiating from the fire - and from him.

He was warm, and she could feel his warmth from under his dark twill outer robe. She always found herself surprised by it every time she came in contact with him. It sounded silly but she assumed the stern serpentine man was as cold-blooded as his reptilian counterpart. _It would be fitting_, she thought before changing her mind. In this moment, sitting so close by his side, that was the last thing she felt about him. Severus gently stroked her hair with his free hand, then abruptly stood up. Hermione shot up to her knees, meeting his gaze. "Don't sleep here. The bed is all yours. I'll be in the back room." She frowned but listened anyway, too tired to immediately put up a fight, and made herself comfortable between his silk sheets.

She watched him walk to the door before calling out to him, "Severus, wait."

He looked back at her, one eyebrow raised.

"Please, stay. You can read, or do whatever you want to do in here." She pulled down the covers on the opposite side of the bed. He rolled his eyes, pulling a book off a bookshelf as he walked over. He eased his way onto the mattress, kicking his shoes off the end of the bed. Hermione meekly held the sheets just over her mouth, watching him in amusement. When he was fully settled on the bed, she scooted closer, "You're listening to me for once."

He returned the amused expression. "Would you rather I not?"

"No," she rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. "It's just different. I'm used to you being the one to tell me what to do." She didn't think about how it sounded till it came out.

And up went the eyebrow again. "Oh, is that so?" He set his book down on the nightstand and turned toward her, wrapping his arm around her midsection and pulling her into his chest. "I happen to prefer it that way."

Her heart was pounding wildly; she could feels it thumping in her neck, starting from the base and slowly filling her throat. Still staring up at the ceiling she replied. "As do I, Severus."

"Look at me," he commanded, but she was too stunned to listen. Flashbacks of her dream from weeks prior replayed themselves in her head. He took her by the chin, forcing her to look at him. Her eyes met his and she felt her soul leap out of her body. It was like she was watching the scene unfold from the space above, and she despite how guilty it made her feel she liked where it was going. Severus toppled over her, pinning her wrists down with one hand and holding himself up with the other.

This time he was the one to initiate the kiss. It wasn't like the kiss they had shared in his classroom. The way he kissed her now was ruthless and hard; devoid of all restraint. She felt the full brunt of his emotions though the harshness of his lips. He ran a hand down the center of her arched spine, digging his nails deep into her skin. She cried out, but didn't stop him. The pain excited her just as much. He ever-so slowly slid his hand under her shirt. Severus clumsily reached for his wand on the nightstand, knocking a few things over. He brought the wand to her chest, lightly waving it over her till her bra and the blouse layered above it undid themselves. Her eyes followed his movements, her breath catching in her throat

"Do you like this?" He asked in a raspy voice, kissing circles around her now bare breasts. She nodded, digging her teeth into her bottom lip to silence the purring deep within her chest.

Smirking in a way that proved his Slytherin nature, Severus moved his hand down her navel and into her panties. Hermione's mouth widened, fully aware of what he was planning to do. She mouthed the word 'stop' over and over again, knowing to the full extent just how sensitive she was there. His thumb pressed firmly against her nub and she threw her arms forward trying to pry his hand off. Pressure filled her head already numbed head, and she felt like she was going to explode.

Hermione opened her mouth to scream and just before sound escaped he stopped, now focusing his attention on her pink opening below. It was _just like him_ to tease her like that, she thought bitterly. He started with a finger, easily making his way to three from how wet she had already become. She clenched around him, pleasure building from his massaging fingertips, but despite that she felt like something was missing. She stared up at him with wanting eyes, begging him for something more satisfying. Something bigger.

Happy to oblige, Severus kicked off his robes till he was just a exposed as she. Hermione took the sight in, blushing madly as her eyes grazed over his naked form. Underneath his robes he was a well-built man. She had always thought it was the fabric that made him look so imposing, but it was truly all him. He was so much bigger in comparison to her small frame, and the thought made her hotter. The boys her own age were nothing like this. Still growing into their own bodies, they were often much too scrawny and awkward for her tastes.

He rested her thighs above his shoulders, pressing his hard member against her entrance. She shot him a small, barely perceptible nod before he began to inch himself inside. She threw her head back, pain running through her.

"Slower," she said, each thrust piercing her like a knife of pleasure.

His unhinged expression relaxed, and he began to slowly easing himself in and out till he got to a speed she was comfortable with. The pain subsided sooner than she expected, becoming only an undertone to the pleasure that soon overwhelmed her entire being. Severus repositioned himself above her, finding an angle that hit a certain spot. Her body quivered, and Hermione shot him a worried expression. "It feels," she began before a moan escaped her instead. She squirmed below him, unsure of the new sensation.

He buried his face into the curve of her neck and whispered, "Good?"

"Yes," she gasped, not having the air to fully explain the heaven she was experiencing.

After a few more hard thrusts he finished inside her, leaving them both gasping for air. Liquid dripped down her thighs as he pulled out, leaving her feeling empty without him. With a small smile like an etch at the corner of his lips he rolled off her to lay beside her. Hermione turned her head so the side, watching her Professor breathe just as heavily as she did, their chests rising and falling rhythmically. Tired, she let her eyes fall, knowing that if she stayed up any longer she would have to think her situation through. For now, she was fine with letting whatever happen, happen. Severus slung his arms around her, holding her tight.

A dim light peeked through the curtains over the window, waking Hermione. The window, she thought with the same childish curiosity that compelled her to pick up the snow the day of the fireworks show. She stretched her arm forward and roughly pulled away the curtains, basking in the light streaming in. The glow from the window shone brightly over her brown hair, tinting it auburn. She closed her eyes, still tingling with tire, and relaxed in the gentle glow.

Snape shot up from behind her, staring when he saw her.

She jumped too, causing the curtains to fall shut. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Sorry. For a moment you reminded me of someone else."

Her heart sank. Something must have shown in her face, because Snape hastened to soothe her fears.

"It's not important. You, standing in front of me is what's important to me now." He said with all certainty. Hermione smiled back wearily, she wasn't sure what just happened but she was glad to hear him say as such. She only wished she understood the emotion depth he tried to convey with his words.

Severus settled down back into bed, his arms crossed firmly over his chest. She took this as a sign to do the same and nuzzled her head against his side. He snapped out of his thoughts momentarily, welcoming her over with a smile and slinging an arm around her. She closed her eyes again, and drifted away.

She woke up again, only this time Severus was gone.

Hermione's eyes darted around the room, wondering where he could have gone. She stared at the window, the only thing in the room that could give her an feel of the time. She wasn't certain but it appeared to be mid-afternoon. She sighed and slid herself off the bed. A jolt of pain shot through her, a reminder of the night before. A vivid image of Professor Snape hovering above her disheveled form appeared in her mind, causing her to shudder with remembered pleasure.

She remembered him telling her to making herself comfortable but still couldn't help but feel like she was intruding. In the backroom she made herself tea by hand; an old Muggle habit she supposed. The stove and teapot looked like they hadn't been touched by hand for years. She had a hard time imagining him doing most things by hand that he could easily replace with magic anyway.

Mug in hand, she made her way back out to the main room. She sat in Severus' usual spot on the couch in front of the fireplace. It didn't look like he often entertained, or at all besides her. It was an observation she had made before due to the bachelor decor. Without him here she felt lonely, the dismal room only emphasizing it and she began to wonder if this was how Severus felt all the time, sitting in front of the fireplace alone.

She sighed, her eyes coming across a thick book sticking out from the bookshelf above the fireplace. Curiosity got the best of her, as it often did, and she found reaching for it. She blew a thick layer of dust off the patent leather cover. A photo album? She thought, opening it to the first page. Her eyes widened at the pictures of a younger Snape and what appeared to be his family surrounding him. She continued to flip through, and with each page he grew older. One thing that stood out to her was how the pictures weren't animated like the ones normally found in the wizarding world. Her mouth opened agape. In fact, none of these pictures were magical. She had always assumed he was a pureblood, but now she began to think otherwise.

In all the pictures of Severus, he always appeared less than joyful; sporting a solemn frown. She stopped at one photo of their family all standing together where he had looked especially upset. His eyes were swollen as if he had just been crying, and they stared full of hatred at his father's hand where it rested on his shoulder. He couldn't have been any older than sixteen. Hermione's stomach sank and she quickly slammed the photo album shut. She gulped, feeling like she had come across something she was not meant to see.

The door leading from Severus' office to the bedroom was thrown open, and a familiar dark figure swooped inside. Hermione quickly shoved the album back onto the shelf.

"_Please_ Ms. Granger, would you tell your idiot friends to quit interrupting my class-" He stopped midway through the door, surveying the scene. She bit her lip, preparing herself for his wrath. But it didn't come. He walked up to her, his chest nearly touching her own, and stared down at her. "This was not what I meant when I said make yourself comfortable."

Hermione held her breath. "Sorry," she said, taking a step back.

He grabbed her chin, the familiar sensation of his touch shocked her skin and forcing her to look into his eyes. "Not again." His words enchanted her into submission and, god, did she love those dark eyes. She shook her head, her heart pounding in her chest. It took her a few moments to collect herself before she gave a proper reply.

"I'm sorry, I had no idea... I should be getting to class now."

His grasp on her loosened and eventually left all together. "No point now, the day is nearly over. But if you want to catch your last couple of period your should start heading out now." She caught her breath again, the stuffy dungeon air sitting heavy her lungs.

"Why didn't you wake me up?!" She snapped, scrambling to get her things together. When she couldn't find her shoes she gave up, falling back miserably on the bed. Truthfully, she cared less about getting to class than she knew she should. Before, she had been so set on attending as many classes as possible, the headmaster even permitted her to carry a time turner. The change in herself unsettled her. She felt like she was losing herself in him, which worried her tremendously.

"You needed your sleep," was all he said to explain himself. "I imagine you must be sore."

Hermione blushed. He was right, but... She instinctively moved to be closer to him, sneaking her arms around him. "Not that sore…" He saw the want in her eyes and with a smirk, he led her to the bed. One more night spent in his chambers couldn't hurt, she told herself, as she allowed him to whisk her away once again.

**xxx**

Hermione decided to leave first this time. After sharing a quiet breakfast with Severus she escaped from his chambers. She bobbed her head, glancing back and forth down both ends of the hallway, checking if the coast was clear. The hallways were still dark, the candles not yet lit. With a sigh of relief she headed back to her common room, her chest clenching in anxiety. She should be used to sneaking around, she told herself, though the thought didn't comfort her much. When she reached the stairs she calmed, the worst part of it already over. With her anxiety gone, a new feeling filled her. She smiled giddily, her steps quickening up the ever changing staircase.


End file.
